The other day, I was talking with a friend of mine who is a small business owner. She has a vintage customized rental trailer that won’t be finished until at least a month from now. In a quandary of whether or not she should promote the trailer for rent she asked me what I thought.
“PROMOTE IT!” I restrained myself from shouting. “Promote it. Share with people the process of getting your product to them. They want to know. Show them the guts of what it takes to overhaul, modernize, and customize a vintage trailer.”
“Really?” She shook her head. “You think people will want to know this?”
“Yes. How many people are doing what you are doing? What 10? People have this dream of doing something off the beaten path but how many of us actually do it? We want to live vicariously.”
“What should I share?”
“Everything about the process. Let your audience determine what is crap and what is good. And, 90% of what you do is going to be crap and 10% is going to be awesome. But, you’re too close to know which is which—that’s your fans’ job.”
“So, I should share when I’m painting the outside and adding curtains and pillows to the inside?”
“Yes, share it all. Be brief, take lots of photos, and share the process. Share the dream.”
“What if someone wants to book but the trailer isn’t done yet?”
“Then, you’ll have waiting list and what is better than a list of people who know you, trust you, and want to buy from you?”
Share your process and let people see behind the scenes.